Ear wire for earrings



May 13, 1947; A. FRANCIS 2,420,531

- EAR WIRE FOR EARRINGS Filed May 14, 1946 INVENTOR.

Ma ma? Patented May 13, 1947 EAR. WIRE FOR EARRINGS Alfred Francis, Providence, R. I.

Application May 14, 1946, Serial No. 669,619

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in ear wires for earrings and particularly relates to earrings of the type having a U-shaped member of fiat stock having a bent base adapted to underlie an ear lobe, an outer arm having an inner surface adapted to abut the outer surface of the ear lobe and an inner arm having means thereon adjustably movable against the inner surface of the ear lobe to clamp said ear lobe against said outer arm. In the prior art on earrings of this type, ornamentation has been directly attached to the outer arm, thus making it close to the ear.

An object of my invention therefore, is to provide an ear wire of this general type which has a bent hook with its inner end attached to the upper end of said outer arm with its bent portion projecting outwardly and terminating in a depending outer portion shaped to have an ornament thereon, whether said ornament comprises a design impressed thereon in its manufacture or a separate ornament such as a gem or cluster of gems mounted thereon or a pendant depending therefrom, thus providing a structure which displays the gem or ornamentation at a spaced distance from the ear to better effect than in former types where the gems and ornamentation have been substantially adjacent the ear.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure which will show the gems or pendants more in perspective so that they can be viewed from any angle and hence more ornamentally displayed than in prior art structures thereby making the gems or ornamentation more conspicuous so that they may attract more attention to the wearer.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure particularly adapted for hanging pendants in which the pendants swing more freely and are more conspicuously displayed than when mounted directly on the ear.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure which is easy to manufacture and easy to attach and remove.

A further object of my invention is to provide an ear wire in which the ear wire itself, and the ornamental or ornament mounting outer portion of the hook may be formed in a single stamping operation on fiat stock prior to being bent in shape for use and in which if desired the entire ornamentation may be stamped as a design on the outer end of the hook portion and in which any desired type of gem mounting mean or pendant hanging means may be stamped on said outer portion in the same blow with which the ear wire is formed.

These and such other objects of my invention as may hereinafter appear will be best understood from a description of embodiments thereof, such as are shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of my invention constructed to have both a gem mounting plate and a pendant hanging hole on the outer portion of the hook thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the ear wire as it is stamped as a flat piece in a single operation with the em holding plate and pendant hanging hole formed in said single stamping operation.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of my invention in which the depending outer end of the hook is constructed in the shape of the design and with design interlineations stamped thereon in the same operation that the gem holding plate is formed on the outer end of the hook portion in a single operation as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of my invention employing a gem holding cup and having an upturned tip on the depending outer portion of the hook to provide a hook for hanging a pendant thereon, with the gem, pendant and lobe of the wearers ear being suggested in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the alternative embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. 4.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference generally indicate like parts throughout, Ill, l0, H3" generally indicate ear wires for earrings constructed in accordance with my invention. Said ear wires comprise in combination, a U-shaped member l2, l2, [2" of fiat stock having a bent base M, It, M adapted to underlie the ear lobe. Said base may be bent in the semi-circular or. arcuate shape shown or may be square by providing two right angle bends or any other shape if desired. Said ear wire therefore has an outer arm l6, l6, Iii projecting upwardly from the outer end of said bent base I4, l4, I4 having an inner surface adapted to abut the outer surface 88 of the ear lobe 2i! shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Said ear wire also has an inner arm 22, 22, 22" adapted when attached to lie in rear of the lobe 26 as suggested in Fig. 4 and having means 2-2, 2t, 24" thereon adjustably movable against the inner surface of the ear lobe to clamp said ear lobe 29 against said outer arm l6, l6, l6". While said means 24, 24' 24" maybe of any standard construction including a clamping portion 26, 23', 26", in the embodiment shown said clamping portion 26, 26, 26" comprises a pad adapted to abut the inner surface of said lobe mounted on the end of a screw 28, 28', 28" adjustably threadable through a threaded hole 30, 30', 30" in the upper end of said inner arm 22, 22', 22" having a head 32, 32', 32" on the inner end thereof suitably knurled if desired for turning purposes. In place however of the standard screw, any suitable type of a clamp or other securing device may be employed.

In order to display the ornamented portion of the earring in a better manner I provide in supplement to the usual U-shaped member l2, l2, l2", a bent hook 34, 34', 34" having an inner portion 36, 36', 3B" which may if desired be of less width than the U-shaped member I2, I 2', l2", as shown in Figs. 1-3 attached to the upper end of said outer arm [6, l6, l6" with its bent portion 38, 38', 38 projecting outwardly and terminating in a depending outer portion 40, 4B,

40" shaped to have an ornament thereon. Said bent portion 38, 38', 38" may also be bent in semicircular or arcuate shape or may be made square by providing two right angle bends as shown in Fig. 4 or in any other shape desired.

I have shown three embodiments of my invention in the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 said outer portion 49 is shaped in the stamping operation in the shape 6!! of the ornament desired such as the leaf 46' shown with suitable design interlineations d2 stamped. thereon in the initial stamping process. The surface of the ornamental portion 40 may if desired be additionally studded with gems, enameled, painted, or otherwise ornamented if desired. On the other hand, as in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the outer portion 60 or 48" may be shaped and enlarged in the form of a base or otherwise to have an ornament such as the gem 48" or such as the pendant 44" mounted thereon as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. I have shown in Fig. 1 said outer portion having a base comprising a flat plate 451 for receiving the base of an ornament with a central hole 46 for receiving a pin projecting inwardly from the ornament so that the end thereof may be swedged interior of the hole to firmly clamp the base of the ornament against said plate 40. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the base 49 comprises a cup with its outer surface suitably concaved so that the base of the gem 44 may be suitably pasted thereto or secured thereto by suit able prongs or in other ways known in the art. I have shown in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the outer portion 40 or 40" formed to provide means for mounting a gem thereon and also with means 48 or 48" for hanging a pendant therefrom, although if desired my invention may be constructed to hang a pendant alone from said outer portion or to mount a gem, cluster of gems or other ornament alone on said outer portion.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the means 48 for hanging a pendant ornament on said outer portion comprises a hole 48 in an extension 59 projecting downwardly from said outer portion. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, said means 48" for hanging a pendant thereon comprises an outer end 53" projecting downwardly from said 4 base d0" bent upwardly and inwardly as shown to provide a hook 52" for hanging the pendant ornament 44" thereon. If desired, the tip of the portion 50" may be soldered to the outer surface of the outer arm IE" to provide the hook 52". While the hook portion 34, 34', 34" may be constructed of a separate piece which may be soldered or otherwise secured in any desired manner to the top of the outer arm IS, in any preferred embodiments shown it is preferably formed integral with said outer arm I6, I 6', l6" or entire ear wire l0, l9, It! so that its inner end 36, 36, 36" projects integrally upwardly from the upper end of said outer arm. The ornament instead of the gem 44" may comprise a separate stamped or otherwise fabricated piece which may have its rear surface directly soldered or otherwise secured to the base 4! if desired. Also, if desired, a base for a pendant may be similarly soldered to the plate 40.

It is apparent that I have provided a novel-type of ear wire with the advantages described above.

It is understood that my invention is not limited to the specific embodiments shown and that P various deviations thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ear wire for earrings, comprising, in combination, a U-shaped member of fiat stock having a bent base adapted to underlie :an ear lobe, an outer arm having an upper surface adapted to abut the outer surface of the ear lobe, and an inner arm having means thereon adjustably movable against the inner surface of the ear lobe to clamp said ear lobe against said outer arm, and an ornament portion projecting forwardly from the upper end of said outer arm, and terminating in a downwardly extending outer portion having an end bent upwardly and inwardly forming a hook behind said downwardly extending portion for hanging a pendant ornament thereon.

2. An ear wire for earrings, comprising, in combination, a U-shaped member of flat stock having a bent base adapted to underlie an ear lobe, an outer arm having an upper surface adapted to abut the outer surface of the ear lobe, and an inner arm having means thereon adjustably movable against the inner surface of the ear lobe to clamp said ear lobe against said outer arm, and an ornament portion projecting forwardly from the upper end of said outer arm, and terminatingin a downwardly extending outer portion having an enlarged base for mounting an ornament thereon and an end bent upwardly and inwardly forming a hook behind said downwardly extending portion for hanging a pendant ornament thereon.

ALFRED FRANCIS.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 13, 1935 Number 

